Adjustable clothesline fastener



Dec. 3, 1946. T. RUSSELL 2,412,097

ADJUSTABLE CLOTHESLINE FASTENER Filed Dec. 4, 1944 INVENTOR. Theodore Russell ATTORNEW Patented Dec. 3, 1946 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 3 Claims.

This invention relates to fasteners and more particularly to an improved self-tightening adjustable fastener for detachably holding the ends of a clothesline or other cord together in such a manner that they will beeasy to release when it is desired to tighten or loosen the clothesline.

One object of the present invention is to provide a device of the above nature in which the fixed end of the clothesline is attached to one end of the fastener in a position which is out of alignment with the free end thereof so as not to obstruct or interfere with the movements thereof.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a clothesline fastener of the above nature comprising a U-shaped metal plate provided with a pair of side wings having a. pair of inclined wedge slots for receiving a transverse cord-engaging wedging roller which has a pair of manipulating knobs located outside of said rings.

Another object is to provide a clothesline fastener of the above nature in which the side wings are provided at their lower portions with two pairs of outwardly curved ears to facilitate the insertion and withdrawal of said clothesline.

A further object is to provide a fastener of the above nature in which the wings are also provided with inturned upper ears to keep said clothesline in the bottom portion of said fastener.

A further object is to provide a clothesline fastener of the above nature having spring means to press the wed'ging roller downwardly against the free end of the clothesline located beneath it.

A still further object is to provide a clothesline fastener of the above nature which will be simple in construction, inexpensive to manufacture, easy to install and manipulate, ornamental in appearance, non-slipping, and very efiicient and durable in use.

With these and other objects in view, there have been illustrated on the accompanying drawing two forms in which the invention may conveniently be embodied in practice.

In the drawin Fig. 1 represents a side view in elevation on a reduced scale of a clothesline apparatus including a pair of supporting pulleys, vertical supports, and the improved clothesline fastener, as they appear in assembled position.

Fig. 2 is a full-sized side view of the clothesline fastener showing the free and fixed ends of the clothesline as they appear during use.

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of the same taken through the center of the base.

Fig. 4 is a top plan view of the same.

Fig. 5 is a transverse sectional view of the same, taken along the line 55 of Fig. 2, looking in the direction of the arrows.

Fig. 6 is a full-sized side view partly in section of a modified form of clothesline fastener, also embodying the invention, and in which the fixed end of the clothesline is permanently attached to a loop depending from the base of the fastener.

One objection to former types of clothesline fasteners was the fact that the fixed end of the knotted clotheslinewhere it was attached to the fastener obstructed the free movement of the loose end of the clothesline.

B means of the present invention, the above and other disadvantages have been avoided by attaching the fixed end of the clothesline at a point either above or below the base of the fastener plate and out of alignment with the free end of the clothesline.

This invention is an improvement over the in-\ vention disclosed in a previous patent by the same inventor, No. 2,349,114 granted May 16, 1944, en-- titled Double cord fastener.

While the present invention isdesigned especially for use as a clothesline fastener, it may also be used for detachably holding the double cords of a life-saving suit, such as was disclosed in the above-mentioned patent, and other devices within the spirit and scope of this invention.

Referring now to the drawing in which like reference numerals denote corresponding parts throughout the several views, the numeral I0 indicates a central base portion of a U-shaped fastener plate P, and the numerals H, l2 designate a pair of side wings of said plate, said side wings being provided in their central portions with downwardly and rearwardly inclined slots I3, I 4, respectively, which slots are parallel to each other asshown in the drawing. The side wings ll, 12 are each provided with two pairs of inwardly bent top ears l5, l6 and l1, [8 for holding a clothesline .L in the lower'part of the fastener plate P.

The side wings II, I 2 are also provided adjacent the base [0 of the fastener plate with two pairs of outwardly curved bottom ears I9, 20 and 2|, 22, respectively. The base 10 also has downwardly bent tongues 22a, 22b at its opposite ends, which tongues and ears serve to guide the free end 24 of the clothesline L smoothly into and out of the U-shaped plate P.

The clothesline L has a fixed end 23 and a free end 24, as clearly shown. In order to hold the free end 24 tightly against the base ID of the U- shaped fastener plate P, provision is made of a cylindrical wedging roller 25 preferably corrugated on its surface and having on its opposite ends a pair of hexagonal domed knobs 26, 21.

In order to cause the wedging roller 25 to be automatically pressed down upon the clothesline L at all times, and thus insure a positive gripping action thereon, provision is made of an upwardly convex leaf spring 28 havin upturned ends 28a, 28b embracing the ears l5, I6 and l1, l8, as best shown in Fig. 3 of the drawing.

At the forward part of the U-shaped plate P, provision is made of a pair of side apertures 29, 30 located in the upper part of the side wings I I, I2 and having a pair of inwardly struck out curved sections 3|, 32. The apertures 29, 30 serve to receive a knot 33 formed on the fixed end 23 of the clothesline L, said knot 33 thus being spaced upwardly from the base If), so as not to interfere with the movements of the extremity 34 of the free end 24 of the clothesline.

In the modified form of the invention shown in Fig. 6, the parts of the clothesline fastener are identical in all respects with those shown in Figs. 1 to '5, with the exception that the apertures 29, 30 at the forward part of the plate are omitted, and the front tongue of the base Ill is curled rearwardly as indicated by the numeral 35.

Operation In operation, the fixed end 23 of the clothesline willfirst be passed through the front apertures 29, 33 of the side wings H, i2 ofthe first form of the invention as shown in Figs. 2, 3, and 4, or through the bottom loop 35 in the second form of the invention shown in Fig. 6. The extremity of the fixed end 23 will then be tied in a knot around said fixed end, as shown in Figs. 1-5, andalso in Fig. 6. The free end 24 of the line will then be passed around the pulleys 36, 31 which are supported in a vertical plane on horizontal hooks 38,

39, which in turn are fastened to a, vertical post 40 and a house 4| respectively. The free end 24 of the clothesline L-will then be inserted in the rear end of the fastener plate P, passed under the wedging roller 25, and drawn out of the front of said plate until the desired tightness has been obtained. Whenever it is desired to release the cord, it will merely be necessary to press upwardly with a slight pressure of the fingers on the knobs 26, 21, there being noneed to tighten the line further in order to accomplish this purpose.

While the extremity of the fixed end 23 of the clothesline L is herein shown as looped around said fixed end and then tied in a knot, it will be understood that if desired, said fixed end will be tied in a knot without such looping action, within the spirit and scope of the present invention. In the latter case, the knot on the extremity of the fixed end 23 will be pulled up tightly into abutment against the outside ofone of the-side wings I I, l2 (Figs. 1-5) or against the edge of the loop 35, respectively. 7

One advantage of the present invention is that the large domed knobs on the ends of the wedging roller permit said roller to be manipulated with extreme ease, so that it may be instantly released from the clothesline with the minimum of effort, which is of particular importance when the clothesline is tightly engaged in the fastener when I the line has been shrunk by the rain.

While there have been disclosed'in this specification two forms in which the invention may be embodied, it is to be understood that these forms are shown for the purpose of illustration only, and that the invention is not to be limited to the specific disclosures, but may be modified and embodied in various other forms without departing from its spirit. In short, the invention includes all the modifications and embodiments coming within scope of the following claims.

Having thus fully described the invention, what is claimed as new, and for which it is desired to secure Letters Patent, is:

1. In a cord fastener, a U-shaped plate having a base and a pair of upstanding side wings,-each of said wings having a slot inclined to said base.

struct the movements of said free end said wings also having ears curled inwardly from said apertures to form smooth guides for saidfixed end.

2. In a cord fastener, a U-shaped plate having a base and a pair of upstanding side wings, each. of said wings having a slot inclined to said base,,

said slots being parallel to each other, a knurled wedging roller extending crosswise-through said slots for engaging and clamping the free end of a clothesline, said wings having a pair of opposed apertures in their upper portions to furnish a secure attachment for the fixed end of said clothesline so that said fixed end will not obstruct the movements of said free end said wings'also having ears curled inwardly from said apertures to form smooth guides for said fixed end.

3. In a cord fastener, a U-shaped plate having a base and apair of upstanding side wings, each of said wings having a slot inclined to said base,.

said slots being parallel to each other, and a knurled wedging roller extendin crosswise through said slots for engaging and clamping the free end of a clothesline, said wings having a pair of apertures in their upper front ends to receive the knotted fixed end of the cord and hold said knotted fixed end out of alignment with said free v end to prevent obstruction thereof said wings also having ears curled inwardly from said apertures to form smooth guides for said fixed end.

THEODORE RUSSELL. 

